Preparation for the Slovak Maturita test, covering all maturita topics - a work in progress.

Thursday, April 28, 2016

The US School System - Pros & Cons

Differences
between the US and Slovak Systems:

1.The school system in America goes from kindergarten to 12th
grade. When you finish one school and go to another, you go to the next
grade. In Slovakia, every time you start a new school, you start counting over
again. You could be the 9th form in základná škola, and then you go
to the 1st form in stredná škola.

2.In America the grading system is different. An ‘A’ is a
‘1’, a ‘B’ is a ‘2’, a ‘C’ is a ‘3’, a ‘D’ is a ‘4’, and an ‘F’ is a ‘5’.

3.In Slovakia, every class gets its own room, which they
decorate and keep clean, and teachers come for each lesson. In America it’s the
same for primary school, but in middle and high school, teachers get their
own rooms, which they decorate, and students switch rooms every lesson.

4.In American schools, high school students are sometimes
separated according to ability. The best students get into honors
and AP (advanced placement) classes, which learn at a faster pace. For
example, 9th graders may be divided into algebra 1, honors algebra
1, and AP algebra 1. A typical student may take two-three honors classes, and
then two-three regular classes, mixed in with weaker students – so, for a smart
student, some subjects will be hard, and some will be really easy.

5.AP courses are standardized nationally, created by a
private organization called the College Board, the same one that writes the
SAT’s each year. AP courses have standardized exams each semester. Advanced
level AP courses, such as calculus, can count as college credit in some
universities.

US
Advantages:

1.Americans believe in a general education for secondary
students, with many subject choices. So, no matter which school you go to, you
can study many things, for example music, art, drama, history, science, sport,
etc. At age 15, you don’t have to start thinking about a future career.

2.Typically, you study less subjects at once (about five?) and
take lessons in them every day. But, this depends on the school. Each one has
its own schedule.

3.Every school in America has to have a nurse, both for
emergencies, and to determine if students really are sick, before calling
parents to pick them up.

4.Public schools in America provide free busing, books, and free
breakfast and lunch for poor students (funding for these programs can come and
go, depending on yearly tax revenue).

5.Some courses are required, like math, reading, and writing,
which are required every year. But you can usually choose when to complete
other requirements like science and history.

6.You usually don’t have to study two or more sciences at once.

US
Disadvantages:

1.In America, if you want to go to a really good school, you
need to find a private one. Catholic schools are some of the best,
academically, and not so expensive, but they’re hard to get into, especially if
you’re not Catholic. Some private schools are extremely expensive, costing as
much as university.

2.Public schools in America gain funding (money) from local real
estate (land) taxes. So, rich towns give higher taxes to their schools, and
poor towns get much less. So, a public school in a rich town will look much
nicer, and will have more facilities than in a poor town – towns don’t share
money equally. That’s true in every state.

3.In the American public school system, in most towns, there are
several primary schools, and only one or two public middle and high schools.
And, you don’t get to choose which high school you go to. It’s a question of
which neighborhood you live in, and school bus routes. If you don’t like your
public school and you want switch schools, you have to move to another part of
town – or a completely new town.

Compare that to
Slovakia, where the average town has about eight different high schools. If you
want to get into the best gymnazium, you have to study hard and get good marks
from the beginning. But, in America, your marks don’t really matter until you
enter high school, when they start counting towards your GPA (grade point
average – a number used to pick best students for awards, etc). So, unless your
parents really push you to study, you won’t learn good study habits, and then,
by the time you’re in high school, and all your friends start rebelling, doing
drugs, and driving, you have to start studying hard for the first time. And
there’s no real penalty for failing. Schools can make you repeat a year over
and over, but they can’t expel you unless you do something criminal or
dangerous.

4.American high schools are usually very large, with thousands
of students. The idea is, if you get all the teenagers together in one school,
you can get all the best athletes together on a school team, with enough money
to buy state-of-the-art training facilities and a big stadium. But, it’s harder
for students to stand out, and to know each other. It’s a different atmosphere
from a smaller school, where everyone knows each other. In Slovakia, schools are
smaller, and the best athletes from each school combine to form a team that
represents the town, instead of the school. I think it’s better.

5.Higher education in America is ridiculously expensive, and the
costs are rising every year. Colleges, which are private, are typically more
expensive than universities, but both costs tens of thousands of dollars a
year. Most students can only go to college if they earn a scholarship or
qualify for a student loan from a bank.